Elizabeth A. Mitchell

Elizabeth A. Mitchell of Cold Spring, beloved Sister, Aunt, Friend and Teacher, was born in Bridgeport, Conn., on June 20, 1934, and died on Monday June 28, 2010.

Visitation will be held July 6 from 2pm to 8pm at Benta’s Funeral Home 630 west 141st Street, New York, NY and funeral services will be on July 7 at St. Charles Borromeo Church 211 West 141st Street, New York, NY, at 10am. A Memorial Mass will be held at Our Lady of Loretto in Cold Spring on July 10 at 11am.

After graduating from Cathedral High School in 1952, she worked full time at Bell Telephone Labs and attended Hunter College evenings in her pursuit to obtain an undergraduate degree, which took her eight years.

Her tenacity and commitment to her goal to teach Latin and Spanish at the secondary level never wavered. Having succeeded in her quest, she was offered a teaching position to teach Latin and Spanish in Ossining, New York. It was during this time, while teaching at the middle and senior high school in Ossining, that she earned her Master’s Degree from Fordham University.

A firm believer that learning is a lifelong process, she herself continued to study and encouraged her nieces, nephews, and others to obtain higher education and supported them in every way.

In reflecting on her more than 40 years of teaching and touching students' lives, she spent the last 7 years teaching at Bloomfield High School in NJ were she was happiest in the classroom. Ms. Mitchell was an avid supporter and patron of the Broadway theatre and many cultural and religious programs; she loved going to Alvin Ailey and was a regular lecturer at Our Lady of Loretto Church in Cold Spring NY.

Elizabeth traveled around the world and studied many cultures and volunteered with Habitat for Humanity in Mexico. She was to leave in July to teach in Nigeria before her untimely departure.

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